“We announce our acceptance of the humanitarian ceasefire
that will begin on Tuesday,” Colonel Sharaf Luqman said in a
statement broadcast by Yemen’s Saba news agency. Any violation of
the ceasefire by Al-Qaeda or others would prompt a military
response, he stressed.

The ceasefire, which is to allow humanitarian aid in, is to come
into force at 11pm (2000 GMT) on Tuesday.

The Sunday announcement of the ceasefire deal comes hours after a
Saudi-led coalition carried out air raids in the Yemeni capital
of Sanaa. The strikes targeted former president Ali Abdullah
Saleh's house, Reuters cited witnesses and members of ex-leader’s
political party as saying. Reportedly, three explosions hit the
area and heavy smoke was visible.

Earlier, Houthi forces said in a statement that they would react
“positively” to any effort that would help alleviate the
plight of the Yemeni people, signaling their readiness to agree
to a humanitarian ceasefire.

"We welcome any truce that has characteristics that serve the
welfare of our nation," Houthi spokesperson Hussein al-Azzi
said on his Facebook page.

Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that a ceasefire could begin in
Yemen as soon as 8pm GMT Tuesday, if Houthi forces agreed to the
proposal.

Despite the end of the first phase of the Saudi-led campaign,
codenamed Decisive Storm, on April 21, the fighting continues to
accelerate in Yemen. The second phase has been named operation
Restoring Hope, which was said to be focused on diplomacy, but
did not rule out new airstrikes.

The devastation caused by the bombardment has aroused criticism
from UN officials who believe the bombing to be a breach of
international law.

"The indiscriminate bombing of populated areas, with or
without prior warning, is in contravention of international
humanitarian law (IHL)," said Johannes van der Klaauw, the
UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen.

"Issuing warnings of impending attacks does not absolve the
parties of their IHL obligations to protect civilians from
harm."

"Many civilians are effectively trapped in Sanaa as they are
unable to access transport because of the fuel shortage. The
targeting of an entire governorate will put countless civilians
at risk," van der Klaauw said.